Veganism has been a controversial topic for decades. It has gained popularity but also gained lots of hate. Being vegan isn’t just seen as a diet, such as “keto” or “gluten free,” it is seen more as a lifestyle, and some take it to more extreme levels. Over the years, veganism has gained more attention, and more people are vegan now. With that comes controversy towards veganism because it has grown more popularity through social media.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a social media platform based on veganism that has gained the attention of millions of people through TikTok. On TikTok, there is a creator who calls herself the “Vegan Teacher” who has gained millions of views. She is labeled as an animal rights activist and has over a million followers. Her activism tactics have brought lots of controversy to her name. She is known to be aggressive and attack followers who don’t agree with her statements. She went viral at first by creating a song called “Eating Animals is Wrong, McDonald’s.” Her goal with this song was to reach the McDonald’s franchise and try to get them to change their whole menu because it was not okay to be selling meat products. This is what began her attacks to be very aggressive. Instead of using her voice in a positive way, she would attack and give people threats. She has also gained hate for the careless way she speaks out. In 2021, she posted a video called “Are You Racist” and spelled out the N-word, attempting to convey a message. This gained heavy controversy from people all over social media, which added to her base of hate. Another tactic she used was comparing dairy industries to being sexually assaulted and described them to be similar. She would refer to dairy industries as “raping” their animals. This comparison was highly offensive, especially to people affected by sexual assault. Her harmful and aggressive tactics have left a negative stereotype on the vegan name. This is why lots of vegan people are also not a fan of the Vegan Teacher.
There have been many harsh vegans who speak their opinions about people who do eat animal products. This tells the outside world that veganism is a toxic community that no one wants to join. In contrast to that, veganism has also gained attention in a positive way. In 2020, it began to gain more popularity in the restaurant industry. Restaurants would display more vegan options on their menus because the population of vegans began to grow immensely. Specifically, over the past couple of years, fast food restaurants have created a vegan burger option, and coffee shops have been carrying more dairy-free options. Many people have been drawn to a healthier lifestyle that includes less processed foods and more vitamin-rich foods. Veganism also goes hand in hand with helping the environment. Because it is plant-based food production, it has reduced land, water, and energy consumption. It has also been proven to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.
Overall, veganism has a very controversial stereotype tied to it, but if you take time to learn about the benefits of veganism, it may not be as controversial as people make it out to be. All of the controversy that surrounds veganism doesn’t affect the diet of veganism, but it does push people to become vegan. That is why some people are hesitant to dive into veganism because of the aggressive push onto the diet.
